Kanpai Vol. 4: Yaoshin Breweries

This month’s brewery: YAOSHIN BREWERIES (八百新酒造)

Relish in the subtle sweetness of this month’s SAKEMARU selection.

This month’s special sake is named after the gangi (雁木, stepped pier) where rice used to be deposited after it had been transported via the river in ancient times. The pier is located next to the river mouth of Nishiki-gawa (錦川, Nishiki River) in Yamaguchi Prefecture, where this issue’s featured brewery can be found.

Only the finest Yamada Nishiki, widely considered to be the best possible rice for brewing sake, and pure spring water found in the brewery’s own underground water source is used for the entire process. Aside of that, the brew master and assistants focus on maintaining the taste and quality of the sake by not adding extra ingredients to keep a pure clean flavour.

Gangi is a junmai nama genshu noichi (純米無濾過生原酒 ノ壱). Nama genshu refers to a fresh sake where no water has been added at the end of the fermenting process. In this case, the sake is also unfiltered, and has a mild aroma which grows richer as you hold it in your mouth. Because of the crisp taste, the aftertaste does not last long and fades off comfortably.

While other breweries use a single barrel to produce shubo (酒母, seed mash), a yeast mix containing rice, a type of fungi known as koji (麹) and water, Yaoshin uses a small barrel for the initial stage of shubo before transferring it to a big barrel, leading to a more sophisticated finish.